Knitted pile fabric

ABSTRACT

A circular knit, deep pile fabric simulating in appearance and texture a natural furpiece formed by seaming together animal pelts. The pile is made up of long, dark-colored fibers and short, light-colored fibers. Wale-to-wale differences in total numbers of pile fibers and in the relative proportions of two types of fibers provide color shading and texture effects simulating not only the pelts of animals but also the seaming characteristics associated with garments formed from pelts.

United States Patent [1113,59o, 04

[72] Inventors Abraham John Beucus L [56] References Cited Delavan, Wis;D V UNlTED STATES PATENTS Ema- Fwde'mcheneromam' 1.894.596 H1933 Moo66/9(B) A [NO 810 401 3,010,297 ll/l96l Hillmi. 66/9 (B) [22] 55 30 19683,299,672 1/1967 Schmidt 66/9 (8) Division of Ser. :90. 525554. Feb. 7.I966. FOREIGN PATENTS Pat 3413331 1,411,902 8/l965 F 66/9 (B) [45]PatFmed July Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey [73] Asslgnee gzig z lgCorparatwn Attainey-BurnsDoane, Swecker& Mathis roo ABSTRACT: A circularknit, deep pile fabric simulating in ap- KNITTED FILE FABRIC pearanceand texture a natural furpiece formed by seaming together animal pelts.The pile is made up of long, darksclmmsu Drawmg colored fibers andshort, light-colored fibers. WaIe-to-wale [52] [1.5. CI 66/191,differences in total numbers of pile fibers and in the relative 66/194proportions of two types of fibers provide color shading and [51] Int.Cl D04lb 9/14' texture effects simulating not only the pelts of animalsbut also [50] Field of Search v.66/9 B, 191, the seaming characteristicsassociated with garments formed 194 frompelts.

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ATTORNEYs' PATENTED JUL-6 lsn SHEET 2 OF 4 I! ""iiiigiiiiiiiimiai 60minimnhimmimimiimmimnni" mllllll lll l'lllll llllmlpmgl r INVENTORS'ABRAHAM' J. BEUCUS PATRICK J FORDE BYMI Mm J M ATTORNEYSPATENTEUJUL-SISYI 3,590,604

SHEET 3 OF 4 INVENTOR ABRAHAM J. BEUCUS PATRICK J. FORDE BY Kam 6 0 MajAwwbw 1141617- ATTORNEYS PATENIEU JUL6 I97| I III III I I II I I I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII III I I I I '"I III I II 'II I III; II I I II III I I III I I I I II III I II III I! I l I I I I II I. I I IR IrII IWII III. III IIIIIIIIII I II I IIIIIII I III'III II'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII III I'I IIII III II E .I II III I II I I III III: YIIIIII I II'I-IIII III; III II II I III I III III I III I I I II I I In, III IIIIIIIII LEGEND RELATIVELY SHORT, RELATIVELY LIGHTWEIGHT FIBERS 0FLIGHTER SHADE SUPPLIED BY THE SLIVERS 26.

I'II'I I IIIIII' RHLATIVELY LONG, RELATIVELY HEAVY FIBERS 0F III IIIIHIHI I BARKER SHADE SUPPLIED BY THE SLIVERS 28v 1 I HIGH DENSITY BLEND0F SHORT AND LONG FIBERS INVENIOHS ABRAHAMJ BEIICIIS PAIIRICK II FOIIDEBY 0%, 1L Swell I/ ie q wanna i KNITTED lllLlE lFAhhliC This is adivision of application Ser. No. 525 ,554, filed Feb. 7, 1966, and nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,413,823.

This invention relates to novel fabric constructions simulating furs andadapted to be manufactured commercially through the use of improved deeppile knitting apparatus.

in a typical commercial installation, deep pile fabrics are manufacturedon circular knotting machines equipped with carding means that takefibers from slivers, or other loosely bound fiber assemblies, and supplythese fibers to the hook portions of the knitting needles. Body yarnsalso are supplied to the hook portions of the knitting needles, and asthe needles are manipulated to draw the body yarns into interlockedloops, the pile fibers supplied by the carding means are bound in withthe body yarn loops. The end portions of the fibers project from thebody yarn loops to form a pile surface on the knitted fabric.Ordinarily, airjets are directed toward the hook portions of the needlesso as to dispose the pile fibers on the inside surface of the circularknit fabric. After the knitting operation, the tubular fabric is slitlongitudinally and subjected to suitable finishing treatments such asshearing and the like.

Proposals for the production of longitudinally extending pattern effectssuch as stripes in these knitted pile fabrics have been advancedheretofore. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 1,894,596 to Moore and U.S.Pat. No. 2,953,002 to Hill. However, these proposals were not entirelyadequate and a need for improved apparatus continued to exist.

Such improved apparatus is disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,823.This apparatus is capable of knitting at high production rates pilefabrics having a wide variety of carefully controlled longitudinalpattern effects. Through use of the improved apparatus one can achieve ahigh degree of precision in patterning without any sacrifice in knittingmachine production capacity.

Another object of this invention is the provision of novel fabricconstructions, particularly artificial fur fabrics, embodying improvedpatterning effects. These fabrics can advantageously be manufacturedthrough the use of the apparatus ofsaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,823.

In this apparatus, body yarns are supplied to the hook por tions of theknitting needles of a circular knitting machine at each of a pluralityof feed stations located at intervals about the periphery of the needlecylinder and pile fibers having different characteristics areselectively supplied to the hook portions of individual ones of theneedles just prior to the point at which each body yarn is supplied.Just after receiving a body yarn, each needle is actuated in theconventional manner to form a body yarn stitch having the pile fibersprotruding therefrom. Carding apparatus located at each feed stationtakes fibers from a plurality of slivers and delivers fibers from therespective slivers to axially spaced portions of a doffer disposedadjacent the periphery of the needle cylinder. As the needle cylinderrotates, the individual knitting needles move successively past oneportion of the doffer and then the other portion of the doffer in theirtravel toward the adjacent body yarn feed station. The individualknitting needles are provided with laterally protruding butt portions,and stationary cam means are disposed in proximity to the periphery ofthe rotating needle cylinder at each feed station in position to becontacted by the needle butts to control the positions of the needlehooks with respect to the doffer.

Selectively in fiber pickup is achieved through the use of needle buttsof different lengths and an arrangement of cam surfaces capable ofcausing the needles to follow different paths. For example, long buttneedles may be moved into con tact with one portion of the doffer topick up fibers therefrom, short butt needles may be moved into contactwith the other doffcr portion, and needles bearing butts of anintermediate length may be brought into contact with both of the dofferportions.

One of the novel fabrics capable of being produced through the use ofthis apparatus is a deep pile fabric that simulates in appearance andtexture a natural fur piece formed by seaming together animal pelts. Thedesired effects are achieved by attaching to different wales of the basefabric different pile fiber contents. Some wales have projectingtherefrom only short, light-colored fibers; some have only long,darlccolored pile fibers; and some have both the short, light-coloredfibers and the long, dark-colored fibers. Controlled wale-towale piledensity variations also play an important role in giving the fabric theproper "feel" characteristics.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be gained from aconsideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

MG. 1! is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view illustrating a circularknitting machine equipped for the production of fabrics accordance withthe invention;

lFlG. fl is a diagrammatic elevational view depicting one of the pilefiber carding and feeding units of the apparatus shown in Fifi. ll;

Fifi. It is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view through a portionof the needle cylinder of the apparatus of FIG. 1, illustrating theoperative relationship between a knitting needle and the doher of one ofthe pile fiber carding and feeding units;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the cam means for controlling thepositions of the knitting needles relative to the fiber supplying dofferat one of the feed stations, portions of the needles and the dofferbeing shown to indicatethe effects produced by the various cam surfaces;

FlG. d is a line diagram shoeing the paths followed by the differenttypes of knitting needles as they pass through one of the feed stationson the machine;

lFlGS. ti, 7 and f3 are perspective views of individual ones of the cammembers of the assembly shown in FIG. 4;

FIGS. El and iii are vertical cros sectional views illustrating theeffects produced by the various cam surfaces on needle butts ofdifferent lengths; and

fit}. ll ii is a diagrammatic view illustrating a repeat of a pattern ofwaiewise bands of different pile fiber contents in a novel artificialfur fabric of this invention.

The general arrangement of the components of the apparatus will beevident from FIGS. ll and 2. Stationary frame means suggested at 2serves to support a rotating needle cylinder d carrying verticallyreciprocable knitting needles 6 in slots or grooves on its periphery. Asthe needle cylinder 4 rotates past a feed station A, the knittingneedles 6 are moved upwardly in sequence to receive in their hookportions pile fibers from a carding and feeding unit 8 and a body yarn10 from supply means indicated at 112. Then each needle is moveddownwardly to draw a loop of the body yarn 10 through a previouslyformed body yarn loop, to cast off such previously formed loop, and tocause the pile fibers to become interlocked with the body yarn loops.This sequence is repeated at each of the remaining stations B, C and D,so that four courses of body yarn stitches are formed during eachrevolution of the cylinder. Airjets, not shown, are directed toward theneedles 6 in the customary manner to orient the pile fibers so that theyprotrude from the body yarn loops toward the interior of the knittedtube.

The number of the stations A, B, etc.., should be as great as ispermitted by space limitations and the like, because the rate of fabricproduction is a function of the number of feeds and economy is of utmostimportance in the manufacture of deep pile knitted fabrics. Four feedstations have been illustrated in FIG. 11 as exemplary of suitablehigh-production equipment. In practice the invention has been madesuccessfully on machines having as many as five feeds and operated toproduce five courses of knitted stitches during each revolution of thecylinder.

Each of the pile fiber carding and feeding units b includes a pair ofsliver feed rollers Ml, a lickerin lti, a main drum 13, a

transfer roll 20, and a doffer 22. These components are rotated in thedirections indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, and all of them except thesliver feed rollers 14 bear conventional card clothing 24 on theirperipheries. However, as indicated in FIG. 1, there is a centrallylocated gap in the card clothing on each of the components I6, 18, 20and 22, By reason of these gaps in the card clothing, the unit ii isdivided into two axially spaced-apart fiber paths.

In accordance with the invention, slivers of different types aresupplied to each of the units 3. In FIG. 1 the numerals 26 and 28 havebeen applied to two slivers that differ from one another in color and/orin some other characteristic. lFor purposes of explanation, it will beconvenient to assume that the fibers of the slivers 26 are white andthat the fibers in the slivers 28 are gray. The two types of slivers aredelivered to axially spaced portions of the feed rolls M and the gaps inthe card clothing serve to keep the fibers from the respective sliversin spaced paths as they move through the unit 8. Hence, the cardclothing at one end portion 22a of the doffer 22 will be suppliedcontinuously with white fibers from the sliver 26 and the card clothingat the other end portion 22b of the doffer will be supplied continuouslywith gray fibers from the sliver 28.

The manner in which the knitting needles 6 are caused to cooperate withthe doffers 22 of the various fiber carding and feeding units 8 will nowbe explained in connection with FIGS. 3 through 10. These viewsillustrate in some detail the structures located at one of the feedstations, and it will be understood that the other stations are similar.

In the illustrated apparatus, three types of knitting needles arepositioned in the slots 30 at the periphery of the needle cylinder 4.All of these needles are provided with laterally extending portionscalled butts." However some of the butts are longer than others. Someneedles do have short butts 32, some needles 6b have long butts 34, andsome needles 6c have butts 36 of intermediate length.

The vertical positions of the knitting needles are controlled bystationary cam means disposed adjacent the periphery of the rotatingneedle cylinder 4 at each of the stations A, E, etc. As is conventional,a base casting 33 overlies the radially projecting portion of the ringgear 40 to which the needle cylinder 4 is attached. The base casting 38is fixed, as by screw means 42, to the machine frame 2. At its inneredge the base casting 38 is provided with an upwardly extending annularflange 54 to which the cam means serving the various stations A, B,etc., may be secured.

An arcuate cam block 46 is fixed on the base casting 38 at each stationas by means of screws 43 (FIG. 9). The cam block in,turn serves as asupport for arcuate cams 50, 52 and E l. Another arcuate cam 56 isfastened directly to the inner face of the flange M on the base casting38 at each of the stations A, B, etc. The spacial relationships betweenthe edges of the cams 50, S2, 54 and 56 and the periphery of the needlecylinder 4 are related to the lengths of the needle butts 32, 34 and 36.The short needle butts 32 can be acted upon only by the surfaces of theinnermost cams 50 and 56. The intermediate length needle butts 36protrude outwardly from the cylinder far enough to be acted upon by thesurfaces of an additional cam 54, and the long needle butts 34 extendinto the zone of action ofstill another cam 52.

The effects attributable to the various cam surfaces can best beexplained by tracing the paths of various types of needles through theassembly shown in FIG. 4. As the needle cylinder rotates the individualknitting needles will move from right to left in FIG. e.

The path of a needle 6a having a short butt 32 will be considered first.This path is designated 57 in FIG. 5. As the needle 60 moves into thevicinity of the doffer 22, its butt 32 will contact an inclined surface58 on the cam 56 and the needle 6a will be moved upwardly in its slot 30(FIG. 3) on the needle cylinder 4 to a position such that the hookportion 6% at the upper end of the needle is just below the cardclothing 2d on the doffer section 220. The needle 6a retains thiselevation throughout its traverse of the doffer section 22a, so that itshook portion 60 does not enter the card clothing to pick up white pilefibers therefrom. In the zone where there is no card clothing 24 on thedoffer 22, the needle 6a is given another lift as its butt 32 rides upalong an inclined surface 62 of the cam 56. This additional liftpositions the hook portion 60 of the needle 6a at a level such that itmay enter the card clothing 25 on the doffer section 22b to pick up grayfibers therefrom. During its traverse across the doffer section 22b, theneedle 6a is retained in its fully elevated position by frictionalengagemerit with the walls of its slot 30 in the needle cylinder and bythe holding action of a spring 64 disposed in a circumferential slot 66(FIG. 3) in the needle cylinder 4.

The path followed by a needle 6b having a long butt 34 is designated 68in FIG. 5. As the needle 6b moves into the vicinity of the doffer 22,its butt 34 will contact an inclined surface 70 on the cam 54 and theneedle will be moved upwardly in its slot 30 on the needle cylinder 4far enough to permit its hook portion to enter the card clothing 24 onthe doffer section 22a, so that white pile fibers will be picked up bythe hook portion of the needle. In the central zone where there is nocard clothing 24 on the doffer 22, the butt 3 8 of the needle 612 willcontact a downwardly inclined surface 72 on the cam 52 and the needle61; will be lowered in its slot 30 sufficiently to permit its hookportion 6t) to pass beneath the card clothing 2' 3 on the doffer 22bwithout picking up pile fibers therefrom. It should be observed that thecam 56 is relieved at 74 so as not to interfere with the desireddownward movements of the needles 6b.

The path of a needle 6c having a butt so of intermediate length isdesignated 75 in FIG. 5. The initial portion of the path "75 is the sameas the initial portion of the path 68 followed by the long butt needles6b. The butt 36 on each needle 8c contacts the inclined surface 7h onthe cam 54 and the me dle 6c is elevated far enough to permit entry ofits hook portion into the card clothing 24 on the doffer section 22a.However, the intermediate length butt 36 is not long enough to reach tothe cam 52. Consequently, the needle 6c is not lowered by the inclinedsurface '72 on the cam 52 and such needle remains in an elevatedposition as it moves by the second doffer section 22b. Although there isno cam surface beneath the butt 36 in the zone of the doffer section2212, the frictional forces between the needle or: and the walls of itsslot 36) in the needle cylinder 4 and the forces exerted by the spring64! (FIG. 3) are sufficient to retain the hook portion 60 of the needleat the elevation required for proper pile fiber pickup action.

It will now be understood that the knitting needles of the differenttypes 6a, 6b, and 6c, acquire different pile fiber loads as theytraverse the doffer 22. Since effective fiber pickup can be achievedonly when the hook portions of the needles are actually inserted intothe card clothing on the doffer, the short butt needles 6a acquire a fewif any of the white fibers carried by the dofier section 22a but they dopick up the gray fibers carried by the doffer section 2217. Similarly,the fiber load acquired by each of the long butt needles ob consistsubstantially of the White fibers supplied by the doffer section 22a.The needles 6c of the third type cooperate effectively with both of thedofier sections 22a and 22b, picking up both white fibers and grayfibers.

After leaving the fiber pickup zone, all of the knitting needles aregiven motions appropriate for effective body yarn pickup and stitchformation. An upwardly inclined surface 76 on the cam 56 contacts all ofthe needle butts 32, 34? and 36, and the various knitting needles areraised in whatever amounts may be required to position them at theproper level for receiving the body yarn 110 in their hook portions 60.A downwardly inclined surface 78 on the upper cam 50 guides all of theneedle butts down along a similarly inclined surface 80 on the cam 56,and then a conventional stitch cam 82 is contacted by all of the needlebutts. As the needle butts 32, 34- and 36 are guided along thedownwardly inclined surface 84 on the stitch cam 82, the hook portionsof the knitting needles move downwardly between adjacent ones of thesinkers 86 carried by the sinker ring 38 in the conventional manner, so

that a loop portion of the newly supplied body yarn will be drawnthrough a previously formed loop which rides up over the needle latchand is cast off. The sinker cap 90 and the other components associatedwith the sinkers 86 are conventional and they need not be described herein detail.

The particular longitudinally extending, or walewise, pattern effectsachieved during use of the illustrated apparatus will depend upon theorder or sequence of the needles of the various types 6a, 6b and 60 onthe periphery of the needle cylinder and also upon the nature of theslivers 26 and 28 fed to the various supply units 8. A detaileddescription of the mode of production of the novel simulated fur fabricof this invention will serve to clarify the patterning capabilities ofthe equipment.

ln setting up the machine for the production of the simulated furfabric, the needles 6 are disposed about the periphery of the needlecylinder 4 in repeating groups of 25 needles each. Within each group orrepeat the order or sequence of needles of different types is asfollows:

Four long butt needles 6b;

One medium butt needle 6c;

Four long butt needles 6b;

Eight medium butt needles 6c;

Four short butt needles 6a; and

Eight medium butt needles 6c. The slivers 26 are made up of 3-denierartificial fibers cut to 1- inch staple lengths and having a white orvery light gray color. The slivers 28 are made up of 24-denierartificial fibers cut to 2-inch staple lengths and having a darker graycolor. The use of acrylic or modified acrylic fibers has been found tobe particularly suitable. In one embodiment fibers of the type soldunder the trade designation ORLON were used in the sliver 26, and fibersof the types sold under the trade designation VEREL were used for thesliver 28. In this particular em bodiment, the ORLON sliver 26 wasslightly heavier than the VEREL" sliver 28, the weight ratio beingapproximately 60 to 40. A lO-ounce DYNEL body yarn 10 may be employed.

With the apparatus set up in the manner just described, the short buttneedles 60 pick up only the relatively long and relatively heavy fibersof the darker shade supplied by the slivers 28. The long butt needles 6bpick up only the relatively short and relatively lightweight fibers oflighter shade supplied by the slivers 26. The medium butt needles 6cpick up fibers from both of the slivers 26 and 28, so that they areloaded with a fiber blend. Being in contact with the fiber supplyingportions of the doffer 22 for a much longer time interval than theneedles 6a or 6b, the medium butt needles 6c acquire changes ofsignificantly greater density than the charges acquired by the shortbutt needles 6a or the long butt needles 6b.

In visualizing the pattern effects produced, one must keep in mind thefact that the knitted stitches formed by any given knitting needle inthe machine define precisely a wale, or longitudinally extending row ofstitches, in the fabric. Moreover, since any given needle till acquirethe same type of pile fiber charge each time it passes one of the feedstations on the knitting machine, the pile also will be oriented inlongitudinally extending rows.

The knitted tube formed on the knitting machine will have the pilefibers disposed on the interior face of the tube. This pile will vary infiber content in accordance with the needle sequence described above.Specifically, a single coursewise repeat of the pattern will, asillustrated in FIG. 11, include longitudinal rows or walewise bands ofthe following widths and fiber contents: a band 100, four wales in widthand containing only the short white fibers from the slivers 26; a band102 one wale in width and containing a greater fiber content made up offibers from both the slivers 26 and the slivers 28; a band 104, fourwales in width and containing only the short white fibers from theslivers 26; a band' 106, eight wales in width and containing the heavyblend; a band 108. four wales in width and containing only the longdarker fibers from, the sliver 28;

and a band 110, eight wales in width and containing the blend.

This tubular fabric is slit longitudinally and then subjected tosuitable finishing treatments. Although these treatments areindividually well known and need not be described in detail here, it maybe helpful to refer briefly to a particular sequence of treatments thathas been found suitable in the production of the simulated fur fabric.The backing or body fabric should first be stabilized, as by aheat-setting treatment. Then the pile surface is processed to enhanceits appearance. For example, the pile may be sheared, then polished,sheared again, subjected to a silicone spray, polished again, and thengiven a final shearing treatment.

The finished fabric has many desirable characteristics. The pile fibersof different lengths and shades give blend effects much like those whichare observed in the natural pelts used for fur garments. Also, there arevariations in pile density which appeal to the sense of touch. Most ofthe fabric wales are formed on the medium butt needles 6c, and the pilein these wales is composed of short fibers underlying and sup portingthe longer fibers. The density of the pile carried by the wales formedon the long butt needles 6b and the short butt needles 6a issubstantially less. By interspersing the rows of relatively low densitypile among the rows of relatively high density pile in the mannerdescribed, a lining effect is attained. This lining effect is not unlikethat produced by the seaming together of natural pelts, as far as thesense of touch is concemed.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, many other patterneffects can be achieved through the use of the principles of theinvention. For example, if it be desired to produce a fabric in whichthere are color or texture variations within a given wale, theillustrated apparatus may be set up to deliver to a particular doffersection at one of the feed stations fibers that differ from thosedelivered to the corresponding doffer section at another feed station.'Also', the nature of the fibers supplied to a given doffer section maybe varied from time to time during operation of the equipment, as forexample through the use of the techniques described in the U.S. Pat. No.3,122,904 to Brandt.

Still other modifications and variations will suggest them selves topersons skilled in the art. It is intended therefore that the foregoingdetailed description be considered as exemplary only.

What we claim is:

l. A knitted pile fabric comprising mutually interlocked body yarn loopsforming courses and wales, said fabric including in a coursewise patternrepeat a first narrow walewise band carrying only short, fine pilefibers of one shade; a second wider walewise band adjacent said firstband carrying a mix ture of said short, fine pile fibers and long,coarse pile fibers of a different shade; a third narrow walewise bandadjacent said second band carrying only said long, coarse pile fibers;and a fourth walewise band narrower than said first and third bands andbeing disposed adjacent said first band and carrying a mixture of saidshort, fine pile fibers and said long, coarse pile fibers; the quantityof pile fibers in the individual wales of said first and third bandsbeing less than the quantity of pile fibers in the individual wales ofsaid second and fourth bands, the plural shades producing blend efiectsand the variation in density producing touch and lining effectssimulating an assembly of natural seamed pelts.

2. A knitted pile fabric according to claim 1 additionally including insaid coursewise pattern repeat a fifth narrow walewise band adjacentsaid fourth band carrying only said short, fine pile fibers; and a sixthwider walewise band adjacent said third band carrying a mixture ofsaidshort, fine pile fibers and said long, coarse pile fibers; the quantityof pile fibers in the individual wales of said fifth band being lessthan the quantity of pile fibers in said sixth band.

3. A knitted pile fabric according to claim 2 wherein each of saidfirst, third and fifth bands is about four wales in width, wherein eachof said second and sixth bands is about eight wales in width, andwherein said fourth band is about one wale in width.

1. A knitted pile fabric comprising mutually interlocked body yarn loopsforming courses and wales, said fabric including in a coursewise patternrepeat a first narrow walewise band carrying only short, fine pilefibers of one shade; a second wider walewise band adjacent said firstband carrying a mixture of said short, fine pile fibers and long, coarsepile fibers of a different shade; a third narrow walewise band adjacentsaid second band carrying only said long, coarse pile fibers; and afourth walewise band narrower than said first and third bands and beingdisposed adjacent said first band and carrying a mixture of said short,fine pile fibers and said long, coarse pile fibers; the quantity of pilefibers in the individual wales of said first and third bands being lessthan the quantity of pile fibers in the individual wales of said secondand fourth bands, the plural shades producing blend effects and thevariation in density producing touch and lining effects simulating anassembly of natural seamed pelts.
 2. A knitted pile fabric according toclaim 1 additionally including in said coursewise pattern repeat a fifthnarrow walewise band adjacent said fourth band carrying only said short,fine pile fibers; and a sixth wider walewise band adjacent said thirdband carrying a mixture of said short, fine pile fibers and said long,coarse pile fibers; the quantity of pile fibers in the individual walesof said fifth band being less than the quantity of pile fibers in saidsixth band.
 3. A knitted pile fabric according to claim 2 wherein eachof said first, third and fifth bands is about four wales in width,wherein each of said second and sixth bands is about eight wales inwidth, and wherein said fourth band is about one wale in width.